School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Beach takes readers through the season as an adorable rabbit family cavorts in the snow, bakes cookies, and engages in wintertime activities. "Mama, what is snow?" a young rabbit asks at the beginning of the story. The narrator switches from "We call it," as in "We call it Welcome in November," to "Call it," as in "Call it Kitten when it sleeps in the crook of a window," which changes the tone of the text. Some of the images, both verbal and visual, are quite sweet-for example, "Magician when the landscape disappears" or "Trickster when it appears April First"-but others are not so satisfying. "Call it Mother when it dusts" is confusing. Is it the snow that "whistles through the trees" or does the wind make the noise? Krupinski's charming gouache illustrations are warm and comforting. Border pictures of the endearing creatures, clad in wintry clothes, alternate with gorgeous farm expanses with hardly a rabbit in sight. However, the inconsistent use of borders and spreads makes this title seem as if it wants to be two books. Not a first purchase.-Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this poetic ode to snow, first-time children's book author Beach explores words that describe winter's white in all its guises ("Call it Prayer/ in its stillness-/ and Harmonica/ when it whistles through the trees"). Krupinski (Christmas in the City) matches the lyrical writing with realistic images of a silent, snowy night, a driving blizzard over farmland and other serene country scenes. However, the border illustrations that frame many of the pages overshadow the timeless beauty of these landscapes. Set off by showy silver-trimmed borders, a family of cutesy bunnies cavorts in the snow, goes ice skating, roasts marshmallows and generally makes merry in a winter wonderland. Very young readers who enjoy the cheery antics of animal characters may delight in this wordless side story, but it could distract them from the poetry and the beauty of the natural scenes, which are too quiet to stand up to the attention-snatching rabbits. Some of Beach's words and themes ("Call it... Eyelet/ when it embroiders spruce./ .../ Call it Tradition/ when it comes on Christmas") will likely be hard for the bunny-loving crowd to grasp. Ages 2-5. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
